TENNIS in DEPTH.

Elena Baltacha pulled off a surprise straight sets win over top seed and French Open champion Francesca Schiavone to move into the quarter-finals of the Istanbul Cup in the Turkish capital today.

Having battled past Turkish wild-card Cagla Buyukakcay in the first round Baltacha looked a different player as she took the game to the stunned Italian and triumphed 6-4 6-2 in one hour and 25 minutes.

Baltacha stretched the Schiavone serve throughout, breaking five times on her way to securing her third tour quarter-final place of the year, where she will next meet the German sixth seed Andrea Petkovic.

Third seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova eased through with a 6-3 6-2 win over Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia. Romania’s Sorana Cirstea and Austria’s Jarmila Groth completed the last eight line-up.

Speaking after the victory, the British number one said: “I’m really proud of today. I’ve had such a great year, it feels amazing.

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